Integrated hydrotreating and oxidative desulfurization process

ABSTRACT

A system and process for desulfurizing a hydrocarbon feed stream containing organosulfur compounds is provided. In general, the system includes a conventional hydrotreating unit through the high pressure cold or hot separator. Aqueous oxidant and an oxidative catalyst are mixed with the hydrotreated hydrocarbon effluent from the high pressure cold or hot separator, and oxidative desulfurization reactions occur in the low pressure separation zone, thereby minimizing or eliminating the requirement of additional oxidative desulfurization reactors.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to desulfurization of hydrocarbon streams; and inparticular to a system and process for integrated hydrotreating andoxidative desulfurization of hydrocarbon streams to produce reducedsulfur-content hydrocarbon fuels.

2. Description of Related Art

The discharge into the atmosphere of sulfur compounds during processingand end-use of the petroleum products derived from sulfur-containingsour crude oil pose health and environmental problems. The stringentreduced-sulfur specifications applicable to transportation and otherfuel products have impacted the refining industry, and it is necessaryfor refiners to make capital investments to greatly reduce the sulfurcontent in gas oils to 10 parts per million by weight (ppmw), or less.In industrialized nations such as the United States, Japan and thecountries of the European Union, refineries for transportation fuel havealready been required to produce environmentally clean transportationfuels. For instance, in 2007 the United States Environmental ProtectionAgency required the sulfur content of highway diesel fuel to be reduced97%, from 500 ppmw (low sulfur diesel) to 15 ppmw (ultra-low sulfurdiesel). The European Union has enacted even more stringent standards,requiring diesel and gasoline fuels sold in 2009 to contain less than 10ppmw of sulfur. Other countries are following in the direction of theUnited States and the European Union and are moving forward withregulations that will require refineries to produce transportation fuelswith an ultra-low sulfur level.

To keep pace with recent trends toward production of ultra-low sulfurfuels, refiners must choose among the processes or crude oils thatprovide flexibility to ensure that future specifications are met withminimum additional capital investment, in many instances by utilizingexisting equipment. Conventional technologies such as hydrocracking andtwo-stage hydrotreating offer solutions to refiners for the productionof clean transportation fuels. These technologies are available and canbe applied as new grassroots production facilities are constructed.However, many existing hydroprocessing facilities, such as those usingrelatively low pressure hydrotreaters, were constructed before thesemore stringent sulfur reduction requirements were enacted and representa substantial prior investment. It is very difficult to upgrade existinghydrotreating reactors in these facilities because of the comparablymore severe operational requirements (i.e., higher temperature andpressure conditions) to obtain clean fuel production. Availableretrofitting options for refiners include elevation of the hydrogenpartial pressure by increasing the recycle gas quality, utilization ofmore active catalyst compositions, installation of improved reactorcomponents to enhance liquid-solid contact, the increase of reactorvolume, and the increase of the feedstock quality.

There are many hydrotreating units installed worldwide producingtransportation fuels containing 500-3000 ppmw sulfur. These units weredesigned for, and are being operated at, relatively milder conditions,i.e., low hydrogen partial pressures of 30 kilograms per squarecentimeter for straight run gas oils boiling in the range of 180C.°-370° C.

However, with the increasing prevalence of more stringent environmentalsulfur specifications in transportation fuels mentioned above, themaximum allowable sulfur levels are being reduced to no greater than 15ppmw, and in some cases no greater than 10 ppmw. This ultra-low level ofsulfur in the end product typically requires either construction of newhigh pressure hydrotreating units, or a substantial retrofitting ofexisting facilities, e.g., by integrating new reactors, incorporatinggas purification systems, reengineering the internal configuration andcomponents of reactors, and/or deployment of more active catalystcompositions. Each of these options represents a substantial capitalinvestment

Hydrotreating/hydrocracking technology includes well-known processes andgenerally incorporates two main sections: reaction and separation. Theconfiguration and types of separation sections typically depends uponthe reactor effluent. Reactor effluents can be either sent to a hotseparator (referred to in the industry as a “hot scheme”) or a coldseparator (referred to in the industry as a “cold scheme”).

In a typical hydrotreating unit 10 schematically depicted in FIG. 1,feedstock 12 is introduced into a feedstock surge drum 14. A make-uphydrogen stream 16, after compression in a compressor 18, is mixed withfeedstock from the surge drum 14, and the mixture is heated in a heatexchanger 20 using reactor effluents 30 as a source of thermal exchange.The partially heated feedstock-hydrogen mixture 22 is further heated toa suitable reaction temperature in a furnace 24, and the fully heatedfeedstock-hydrogen mixture 26 introduced to a catalytic reactor 28. Inthe catalytic reactor 28, the hydrocarbon feedstock is refined byremoval of impurities such as sulfur and nitrogen using a hydrotreatingcatalyst as is conventionally known. Reactor effluents 30 are thencooled in the exchanger 20 and sent to a high pressure cold or hotseparator 32.

Separator tops 34, including gaseous components H₂S, NH₃, and C₁-C₄, andsome heavier components such as C₅-C₆, are separated in the highpressure separator 32 and sent for further cleaning in an amine unit 36.A hydrogen rich gas stream 38, essentially free of hydrogen sulfide, ispassed to a recycling compressor 40 to be used as a recycle gas 42 inthe catalytic reactor 28. The high pressure separator bottoms effluentstream 44, in a substantially liquid phase, is washed with process waterintroduced via a line 45 to prevent salt formation with any remainingH₂S and NH₃. Water is injected into the reactor effluents after the highpressure separator to prevent fouling by salt formation as a result ofthe byproducts according to the reaction NH₃+H₂S→NH₄SH. Ammoniumsulfide, soluble in water, can be removed from the system with thewastewater.

The mixture of bottoms effluent 44 and process water is typicallycooled, for example using an air cooler 46, such as a fin fan cooler,and a water cooler 48, to a temperature of about 35° C. to about 60° C.,preferably about 40° C. to about 50° C. The cooled bottoms from the highpressure separator are then introduced to a low pressure cold separator50. Remaining gases, including H₂S and NH₃ and any light hydrocarbons,which can include C₁-C₄ hydrocarbons, are purged via line 54 from thelow pressure cold separator 50 and sent for further processing, such asflare processing, fuel gas processing, or hydrogen recovery within therefinery complex containing the hydrotreating unit 10 (not shown). Water52 is separated in the low pressure cold separator and the hydrocarbonfraction 56 is passed to the fractionator 58.

However, as mentioned above, most existing hydrotreating processescannot remove all of the sulfur-containing compounds typically presentin hydrocarbonaceous fuels. These sulfur-containing compounds includealiphatic molecules such as sulfides, disulfides and mercaptans as wellas aromatic molecules such as thiophene, benzothiophene,dibenzothiophene (DBT) and alkyl derivatives such as4,6-dimethyl-dibenzothiophene (DMDBT). The aromatic sulfur containingmolecules have a higher boiling point than the aliphatic molecules, andare consequently more abundant in higher boiling fractions.

In addition, certain fractions of gas oils possess different properties.The following table illustrates the properties of light and heavy gasoils derived from Arabian Light crude oil:

TABLE 1 Feedstock Name Light Heavy Blending Ratio API Gravity 37.5°30.5° Carbon 85.99 W % 85.89 W % Hydrogen 13.07 W % 12.62 W % Sulfur0.95 W % 1.65 W % Nitrogen 42 ppmw 225 ppmw ASTM D86 Distillation IBP/5V % 189/228° C. 147/244° C. 10/30 V % 232/258° C. 276/321° C. 50/70 V %276/296° C. 349/373° C. 85/90 V % 319/330° C. 392/398° C.   95 V % 347°C. Sulfur Speciation (ppmw) Sulfur Compounds Boiling 4591 3923 below310° C. Dibenzothiophenes 1041 2256 C₁-Dibenzothiophenes 1441 2239C₂-Dibenzothiophenes 1325 2712 C₃-Dibenzothiophenes 1104 5370

As set forth above in Table 1, the light and heavy gas oil fractionshave ASTM D86 85/90 V % point of 319° C. and 392° C., respectively.Further, the light gas oil fraction contains less sulfur (0.95 W % ascompared to 1.65 W %) and nitrogen (42 ppmw as compared to 225 ppmw)than the heavy gas oil fraction.

Advanced analytical techniques such as multi-dimensional gaschromatography with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector as described byHua, et al. (Hua R., et al., “Determination of sulfur-containingcompounds in diesel oils by comprehensive two-dimensional gaschromatography with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector,” Journal ofChromatography A, Volume 1019, Issues 1-2, Nov. 26, 2003, Pages 101-109)have shown that the middle distillate cut boiling in the range of170-400° C. contains sulfur species including thiols, sulfides,disulfides, thiophenes, benzothiophenes, DBTs, andbenzonaphthothiophenes, with and without alkyl substituents.

The sulfur speciation and content of light and heavy gas oils areconventionally analyzed by two methods. In a first method, sulfurspecies are categorized based on structural groups. The structuralgroups include one group having sulfur compounds boiling at less than310° C., including DBTs and its alkylated isomers, and another groupincluding 1, 2 and 3 methyl substituted DBTs, denoted as C₁, C₂ and C₃,respectively. Based on this method, the heavy gas oil fraction containsmore alkylated dibenzothiophene molecules than the light gas oils.

In a second method of analyzing sulfur speciation and content of lightand heavy gas oils, and referring to FIG. 2, the cumulative sulfurconcentrations are plotted against the boiling points of the sulfurcompounds to observe concentration variations and trends. Note that theboiling points depicted are those of detected sulfur compounds, ratherthan the boiling point of the total hydrocarbons mixture. The boilingpoint of several of the refractory sulfur compounds consisting of DBTs,4-methyl-dibenzo-thiophenes (MDBT) and 4,6-DMDBT are also shown in FIG.2 for convenience. The cumulative sulfur speciation curves show that theheavy gas oil fraction contains a higher proportion of heavier sulfurcompounds and a lower proportion of lighter sulfur compounds as comparedto the light gas oil fraction. For example, it is found that 5370 ppmwof C₃-DBT, and bulkier molecules such as benzo-naphtho-thiophenes, arepresent in the heavy gas oil fraction, compared to 1104 ppmw in thelight gas oil fraction. In contrast, the light gas oil fraction containsa higher content of light sulfur compounds compared to heavy gas oil(4591 vs. 3923 ppmw). Light sulfur compounds are structurally less bulkythan DBTs and boil at less than 310° C. Further, twice as much C₁ and C₂alkyl substituted DBTs exist in the heavy gas oil fraction as comparedto the light gas oil fraction.

Aliphatic sulfur compounds are more easily desulfurized, i.e., commonlyreferred to as “labile” using conventional hydrodesulfurization methods.However, certain highly branched aliphatic molecules can stericallyhinder the sulfur atom removal and are moderately more difficult todesulfurize, i.e., commonly referred to as “refractory” usingconventional hydrodesulfurization methods.

Among the sulfur-containing aromatic compounds, thiophenes andbenzothiophenes are relatively easy to hydrodesulfurize. The addition ofalkyl groups to the ring compounds slightly increases difficulty ofhydrodesulfurization. DBTs resulting from addition of another ring tothe benzothiophene family are even more difficult to desulfurize, andthe difficulty varies greatly according to their alkyl substitution,with di-beta substitution being the most difficult to desulfurize, thusjustifying their refractory appellation. These beta substitutes hinderthe exposure of the heteroatom from the active site on the catalyst.

The economical removal of refractory sulfur compounds is thereforeexceedingly difficult to achieve, and accordingly removal of sulfurcompounds in hydrocarbonaceous fuels to ultra-low sulfur levels is verycostly utilizing current hydrotreating techniques. When the sulfurspecifications at previous levels permitted up to 500 ppmw, there waslittle need or incentive to desulfurize beyond the capabilities ofconventional hydrodesulfurization, and hence the refractory sulfurcompounds were not targeted. However, in order to meet the morestringent sulfur specifications, these refractory sulfur compounds mustbe substantially removed from hydrocarbonaceous fuels streams.

Relative hydrodesulfurization reactivities and activation of sulfurcompounds are shown in the below table:

TABLE 2 Name DBT 4-MDBT 4,6-DMDBT Temperature

Reactivity k_(@250), s⁻¹ 57.7 10.4 1.0 Reactivity k_(@300), s⁻¹ 7.3 2.51.0 Activation Energy 28.7 36.1 53.0 E_(a), Kcal/mol

Relative reactivities of sulfur compounds based on their first orderreaction rates at 250° C. and 300° C., and 40.7 Kg/cm² hydrogen partialpressure over Ni—Mo/Alumina catalyst are given (Steiner, P. et al.,“Catalytic hydrodesulfurization of a light gas oil over a NiMo catalyst:kinetics of selected sulfur components,” Fuel Processing Technology,Vol. 79, Issue 1, Aug. 20, 2002, pages 1-12) in Table 2. DBT is 57 timesmore reactive than the refractory 4,6-DMDBT at 250° C. The relativereactivity decreases with increasing operating severity. With a 50° C.temperature increase, the relative reactivity of di-benzothiophenecompared to 4,6-DMDBT decreases to 7.3 from 57.7.

Most known advances in the industry for minimizing these undesirableeffects include development of more robust hydrotreating catalysts andadvanced hydrodesulfurization reactor designs. Alternative processeshave also been developed to meet the requirements of decreased sulfurlevels in fuels and other petrochemical products.

The development of non-catalytic processes to carry out the finaldesulfurization of petroleum distillate feedstocks has been widelystudied, and certain conventional approaches are based on oxidation ofsulfur-containing compounds described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,440,5,824,207, 5,753,102, 3,341,448 and 2,749,284.

Certain existing desulfurization processes incorporate bothhydrodesulfurization and oxidative desulfurization. For instance,Cabrera et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,478, Zinnen et al. US20050040078A1,and Kocal U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,271 describe integrated processes in whichthe hydrocarbon feedstock is first contacted with a hydrodesulfurizationcatalyst in a hydrodesulfurization reaction zone to reduce the sulfurcontent to the low sulfur level. The resulting hydrocarbon stream isthen passed to a distinct oxidation zone containing an oxidizing agentwhere the residual sulfur is converted into oxidized sulfur compoundsunder mild conditions. After decomposing the residual oxidizing agent,the oxidized sulfur compounds are solvent extracted, resulting in anoxidized sulfur compound stream and a reduced sulfur hydrocarbon oilstream.

However, all of the aforementioned processes known in the art requireconstruction and installation of a grass roots oxidation vessel to carryout the oxidative desulfurization.

Therefore, a need exists for an improved desulfurizing process andapparatus that minimizes the requirement of newly constructed andinstalled reaction vessels.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to modify existinghydrotreating units without the need to construct grass roots units andnewly constructed and installed reaction vessels for oxidativedesulfurization, thereby requiring very high capital investments.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such amodification that incorporates oxidative desulfurization step within ahydrodesulfurization unit thereby advantageously utilizing existinginfrastructure in an efficient and effective manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above objects and further advantages are provided by the system andprocess for desulfurizing a hydrocarbon feed stream containingorganosulfur compounds. In general, processing steps including, andupstream of, the high pressure cold or hot separator are essentially thesame as a conventional hydrotreating unit. Aqueous oxidant and anoxidative catalyst are mixed with the hydrotreated hydrocarbon effluentfrom the high pressure cold or hot separator, and oxidativedesulfurization reactions occur in the low pressure separation zone.

In particular, in one aspect of the invention, the hydrocarbon feedstream is subjected to a hydrotreating reaction, in which thehydrocarbon feed stream is contacted with hydrogen to convert a portionof the organosulfur compounds into a hydrotreated effluent containinghydrogen sulfide and a mixture of hydrocarbons. The hydrotreatedreaction effluent, having a reduced organosulfur compound content ascompared to the hydrocarbon feed stream, is mixed with an aqueousoxidant and an oxidation catalyst. The combined stream is introducedinto a separator, in which a portion of the remaining organosulfurcompounds from the hydrotreated reaction effluent are oxidized. Thecontents of the separator are generally distributed into a) a gasoverhead stream containing a portion of the hydrogen sulfide from thehydrotreated reaction effluent stream, hydrogen and light hydrocarbons,and b) a liquid hydrocarbon stream containing hydrocarbons and oxidationreaction products including sulfoxides and sulfones. The liquid streamis further separated in an extraction vessel into an oxidation reactionproduct stream and a reduced organosulfur-content hydrocarbon productstream.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in further detail below and withreference to the attached drawings in which the same or similar elementsare referred to by the same number, and where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art hydrotreating unit;

FIG. 2 is a graph showing cumulative sulfur concentrations plottedagainst boiling points of the sulfur compounds, identifying boilingpoints of three thiophenic compounds;

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of a hydrotreating unit according toone embodiment of the present invention integrating oxidativedesulfurization in a low pressure separation zone;

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram of a hydrotreating unit according to afurther embodiment of the present invention depicting an alternatelocation for introducing oxidant and oxidative catalyst;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are process flow diagrams of a hydrotreating unitaccording to still further embodiments of the present inventionintegrating oxidative desulfurization in a low pressure separation zoneincluding series separation vessels;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are process flow diagrams of a hydrotreating unitaccording to additional embodiments of the present invention integratingoxidative desulfurization in a low pressure separation zone includingparallel separation vessels; and

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram of a hydrotreating unit integratingoxidative desulfurization in a low pressure separation zone used in anexample according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 3-8 are process flow diagrams according to embodiments of thepresent invention incorporating oxidative desulfurization within aregion 90 (as shown in FIG. 1) including low pressure low temperatureseparation zones of a hydrotreating unit 10. The processing stepsupstream and including the high pressure cold or hot separator 32 areessentially the same as described above with respect to FIG. 1 and asknown to those of ordinary skill in the art, and are not replicated inFIGS. 3-8 for clarity of description. Advantageously, an aqueous oxidantand an oxidative catalyst are mixed with the hydrotreated hydrocarboneffluent from the high pressure separator 32. Existing hydrotreatingunit operation(s), in particular, one or more low pressure separationzones, serve as the locale for oxidative desulfurization.

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of a hydrotreating unit 110 including alow pressure low temperature separator 150 in which both oxidativedesulfurization reactions and separation of gases and process wateroccur under low pressure conditions. Hydrotreating unit 110 alsoincludes an extraction unit 180 and optionally an adsorption unit 190upstream of a fractionating unit 158. Aqueous oxidant is added via aninlet 170 and oxidative catalyst is added via an inlet 172. Although twoseparate inlets 170, 172 are shown, one of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that in certain embodiments oxidant and catalyst can beadded through a common inlet, and can be introduced into a high pressureseparator bottoms effluent stream 144 prior to further cooling or aftercooling (as shown with respect to FIG. 4). The sequence of theincorporation of oxidant 170 and catalyst 172 can vary.

Oxidant in the amount of at least about 4:1 mole:mole ratio of oxidantto sulfur in the feed is added to the high pressure separator bottomseffluent stream 144. Catalyst in the amount of at least about 0.5 wt %based on the total hydrocarbon flow rate is added to the high pressureseparator bottoms effluent stream 144. The combined stream of theaqueous oxidant, catalyst and high pressure separator bottoms is cooled,e.g., using the air cooler 46 and water cooler 48 if necessary, andintroduced into the low pressure low temperature separator 150. Inpreferred embodiments of the present invention, the injection and/ortransport within the pipe carrying the high pressure separator bottomseffluent stream 144 provides sufficient mixing between the oxidant andcatalyst, and the hydrocarbon mixture.

In certain embodiments, the process water used for washing can be aseparate water stream. In additional embodiments, process water isprovided by the aqueous oxidant via 170. The aqueous oxidant can bemixed into the high pressure separator bottom stream 144 by suitabledroplet injection, which facilitates solubilization of the hydrogensulfide and ammonia gases in the water.

According to the present invention, the aqueous oxidant and catalystremain in contact with the hydrocarbon effluent 144 for a period of timesufficient to allow the oxidative desulfurization reactions to occur,i.e., conversion of organosulfur compounds into their correspondingsulfoxides and/or sulfones. The contact time is generally about 5minutes to about 60 minutes, preferably about 15 minutes to about 30minutes.

The oxidation temperature, i.e., the temperature at which the reactantsare maintained in the line between the high pressure separator and thelow pressure low temperature separator 150, is about 20° C. to about150° C., preferably about 45° C. to about 60° C. The pressure in the lowpressure low temperature separator 150 is about 1 bar to about 15 bars,preferably about 2 bars to about 3 bars. The temperature variationbetween the high pressure separator effluent and the low pressureseparator feed can be about 100° C. to about 150° C.

The catalyst, e.g., introduced via inlet 172, can be one or more oxidesof having the general chemical formula M_(x)O_(y), in which M isselected from the elements of groups IV-B, V-B or VI-B of the PeriodicTable. The oxidants, e.g., introduced via inlet 170, can be one or moreperoxides, hydroperoxides, organic peracids. Any suitable catalyst oroxidant can be used for oxidative desulfurization as is known to thoseof ordinary skill in the art.

In certain embodiments, the residence time in the pipe and in a singlelow pressure low temperature separator 150 is sufficient to convert thedesired quantity of organosulfur compounds remaining afterhydrodesulfurization into their corresponding sulfoxides and sulfones.Accordingly, system 110 requires very minimal modification to existinghydrotreating units to integrate oxidative desulfurization. Catalyst andaqueous oxidant can be introduced at or near the location where processwash water is introduced in a conventional hydrotreating unit. Thepresent invention also contemplates introduction of aqueous oxidantand/or catalyst at other locations, including downstream of the aircooler 46 or the water cooler 48, as shown in FIG. 4.

In alternative embodiments, as shown with respect to FIGS. 5 through 8,a plurality of low pressure low temperature separators are provided asvessels for integrated separation and oxidative desulfurizationreactions for conversion of organosulfur compounds into theircorresponding sulfoxides and/or sulfones.

Water and dissolved ammonium salt, catalyst and unreacted oxidants aredecanted via stream 152 from the low pressure cold separator 150.Catalysts can be recovered and recycled to inlet 172 (not shown). Inaddition, any sulfones and/or sulfoxides that are soluble in water,generally a minor portion of the total oxidation products, can also bedecanted with the wastewater via stream 152. Separator tops, whichinclude the same gases as in a conventional low pressure low temperatureseparator, and any oxidants that are converted to gaseous oxygen, arepurged via overhead stream 154 from the low pressure cold separator 150.

A hydrocarbon stream 156 containing untreated hydrocarbons and oxidativedesulfurization products sulfoxides and/or sulfones, is discharged fromthe low pressure cold separator 150 and introduced to the extractionunit 180. The reaction byproducts sulfoxides and/or sulfones areextracted from the hydrocarbon mixture with an extraction solvent 182.The extractor bottoms 184 are collected as a wide range hydrocarbonproduct, passed to the fractionator 158 for fractioning into final orintermediate product, or optionally introduced to an adsorption unit190, shown in broken lines in FIGS. 3-8, to remove any remainingsulfones and/or sulfoxides. The extractor tops 186 include primarilysulfones and sulfoxides that can be passed to a hydrocarbon recoverysection or disposed in a waste stream after solvent recovery (notshown). Accordingly, a hydrocarbon product having reduced organosulfurcontent is recovered from the extraction unit 180 (stream 184) or theadsorption unit 190 (stream 194).

Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention is shown with reference to a hydrotreating unit 210, in whichaqueous oxidant 270 and oxidative catalyst 272 are mixed with the cooledhydrocarbons, i.e., after the hydrocarbon stream 144 has been cooled bythe air cooler 46 and the water cooler 48. The mixture is introduced tothe low pressure cold separator 150, and the product, gas and wastestreams are removed in the same manner as described with reference toFIG. 3.

In certain embodiments, and referring generally to FIGS. 5 though 8, aplurality of low pressure separators are provided to: a) increaseresidence time thereby increasing contact time between the oxidant andthe hydrocarbon to be desulfurized; b) increase total throughputcapacity of the hydrotreating unit; and/or c) provide staged oxidativedesulfurization operations. In particular, FIGS. 5 and 6 showembodiments of hydrotreating units integrating separators in aseries-flow configuration, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show embodiments ofhydrotreating units integrating separators in a parallel-flowconfiguration.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a hydrotreating unit 310 of the presentinvention in which a plurality of low pressure low temperatureseparators are provided in a series-flow configuration, with thehydrocarbon effluent from the final low pressure low temperatureseparator 350 b being introduced into the extraction unit 180. Inparticular, aqueous oxidant and catalyst are introduced at inlets 370,372, respectively, and mixed with the high pressure separator effluent144.

The mixed stream of hydrotreated hydrocarbons, oxidant and catalyst isintroduced into the first low pressure low temperature separator 350 a.Water, a portion of the reaction product sulfones and/or sulfoxides andammonium sulfide salt can optionally be decanted via wastewater stream352 a (shown in dashed lines). Gases, e.g., H₂S, NH₃ and C₁-C₄, and anyoxidant converted to gaseous oxygen, are purged via overhead stream 354a.

A hydrocarbon stream 356 a containing untreated hydrocarbons, catalystand oxidative desulfurization products sulfoxides and sulfones, isintroduced to the second low pressure low temperature separator 350 bfor further separation. Any remaining gases H₂S, NH₃ and C₁-C₄, andoxidants that are converted to gaseous oxygen, are purged via overheadstream 354 b, and remaining water and ammonium sulfide salt, unreactedoxidant, and any reaction product sulfones and/or sulfoxides that aredissolved in water, are decanted via wastewater stream 352 b. In apreferred embodiment of the hydrotreating unit 310, all or a portion ofthe water phase (containing a minor portion of soluble sulfones and/orsulfoxides and unreacted oxidant) is not decanted, and is passed to thesecond low pressure low temperature separator 350 b along with thehydrocarbon stream 356 a.

A hydrocarbon stream 356 b containing untreated hydrocarbons, catalystand oxidative desulfurization products sulfoxides and sulfones, isintroduced to the extraction unit 180 in which hydrocarbon product isrecovered as described with respect to FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 shows a hydrotreating unit 410 according to another embodiment ofthe present invention where a series of low pressure low temperatureseparators are provided. In particular, aqueous oxidant and catalyst areintroduced via inlets 470 a and 472 a and are mixed with the highpressure separator effluent 144. The mixed stream of hydrotreatedhydrocarbons, oxidant and catalyst is introduced into the first lowpressure low temperature separator 450 a. Water, unreacted oxidant, anydissolved reaction products sulfones and/or sulfoxides and ammoniumsulfide salt can optionally be decanted via wastewater stream 452 a(shown in dashed lines). Gases are purged via overhead stream 454 a. Ina preferred embodiment of the hydrotreating unit 410, all or a portionof the water phase (containing a minor portion of soluble sulfonesand/or sulfoxides and unreacted oxidant) is not decanted, and is passedto the second low pressure low temperature separator 450 b along withthe effluent hydrocarbon stream 456 a.

The effluent 456 a from the first low pressure low temperature separator450 a is mixed with further oxidant and catalyst introduced via inlets470 b and 472 b, respectively, and the combined stream is passed to thesecond low pressure low temperature separator 450 b. The additionaloxidant and catalyst can be the same or different than the oxidant andcatalyst introduced via lines 470 a and 472 a. For instance, in certainembodiments, it can be desirable to add a relatively small amount ofoxidant and catalyst via inlets 470 a, 472 a, in which the oxidant isessentially reacted in its entirely and the catalyst is spent.Additional oxidant and catalyst is therefore introduced via inlets 470b, 472 b to provide further oxidative desulfurization reactions in thesecond low pressure low temperature separator 450 b. In otherembodiments, a different type of oxidant can be introduced via line 470b, for instance, in which the oxidant introduced via line 470 a targetsa first category of organosulfur compounds and the oxidant introducedvia line 470 b targets a second category of organosulfur compounds.Additional benefits of multiple inlets for incorporation of oxidant andcatalyst is to enhance mixing and residence time, and for enhancedseparation of hydrocarbons and other by-products such as ammonia,sulfide salt, unreacted oxidant and spent and regenerable catalyst.

The mixture of the hydrocarbon stream 456 a and the additional oxidantand catalyst is introduced to the second low pressure low temperatureseparator 450 b for further separation. Any remaining gases H₂S, NH₃ andC₁-C₄ are purged via overhead stream 454 b, along with oxidant that hasbeen converted to gaseous oxygen. In addition, water, unreacted oxidant,ammonium sulfide salt and any dissolved oxidation reaction productssulfones and/or sulfoxides, are decanted via wastewater stream 452 b. Ahydrocarbon stream 456 b containing untreated hydrocarbons, catalyst andoxidative desulfurization products sulfoxides and sulfones, isintroduced to the extraction unit 180 in which hydrocarbon product isrecovered as described with respect to FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 shows a hydrotreating unit 510 according to further embodiment ofthe present invention in which a plurality of low pressure lowtemperature separators are provided in parallel, with the hydrocarboneffluent from both low pressure low temperature separators beingintroduced into the extraction vessel. In particular, oxidant 570 andcatalyst 572 are mixed with the high pressure separator effluent 144.The mixed stream of hydrotreated hydrocarbons, oxidant and catalyst isintroduced, in parallel, into the first low pressure low temperatureseparator 550 a and the second low pressure low temperature separator550 b. Water, unreacted oxidant, any dissolved reaction product sulfonesand/or sulfoxides and ammonium sulfide salt are decanted via wastewaterstreams 552 a, 552 b. Gases are purged via overhead streams 554 a, 554b.

Hydrocarbon streams 556 a, 556 b containing untreated hydrocarbons,catalyst and oxidative desulfurization products sulfoxides and sulfones,are combined and introduced to the extraction unit 180 in whichhydrocarbon product is recovered as described with respect to FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 shows a hydrotreating unit 610 according to another embodiment ofthe present invention, which is similar to system 510 shown with respectto FIG. 7, with a modification that oxidant 670 a, 670 b and catalyst672 a, 672 b are introduced in each of the parallel lines feeding lowpressure low temperature separators 650 a, 650 b. While FIG. 8 showssystem 610 in which effluents 656 a, 656 b are combined and in which themerged stream is passed to the extraction unit 180, it is contemplatedthat effluents 656 a, 656 b can be separately collected for use ashydrocarbon products of different sulfur speciation requirements.Accordingly, the process can be customized, for instance, to provideeffluents 656 a, 656 b of different compositions. Using parallel lowpressure low temperature separators 650 a, 650 b affords the ability totarget different sulfur compounds at different stages; add more catalystand/or oxidant between stages to supply to the system, add differentcatalyst and/or oxidant at different stages; provide additional mixingand residence time between oxidant, catalyst and sulfur compounds; andprovide enhanced separation of hydrocarbons and other by-productsammonia sulfide salt, oxidant, and catalyst.

EXAMPLE

FIG. 9 illustrates the process configuration for the example using thelow pressure section of a hydrotreater to carry out the oxidationreactions. A diesel oil feed 726 containing 1.87 W % of sulfur(elemental sulfur excluding the carbon and hydrogen in the structure)and 87 ppmw of nitrogen was subjected to a hydrotreating process overCo—Mo on Alumina hydrotreating catalysts at 30 kg/cm² of hydrogenpartial pressures, LHSV of 1 h−1 to obtain 500 ppmw of sulfur. From thesulfur speciation of the feedstock diesel, the average molecular weightof the sulfur species were calculated to be 202 g/g-mol. This results in11.08 W % of organic sulfur, or 19,397 kg in 175,000 kg of diesel oil indiesel oil to be hydrotreated then and oxidized. Most of the organicsulfur compounds were hydrodesulfurized yielding H₂S and hydrocarbons.Only 0.05 W % elemental sulfur, or 0.28 W % of organic sulfur, remainsin the hydrotreated products.

The desulfurized hydrocarbon stream 730 from the hydrotreating reactor728 after cooling in a series of exchangers (not shown) was mixed withan aqueous oxidant 770 and a catalyst stream 772. The aqueous oxidanthydrogen peroxide was provided at a 4:1 oxidant to oil mole ratio, and0.1 W % (based on the original feed) homogenous sodium tungstatecatalyst was used.

The combined stream 744 was passed to a low pressure cold separator 750.The oxidant, catalyst and hydrocarbons remain in contact for a period of15 minutes at 80° C., which allows the oxidation reactions of sulfurcompounds in the hydrocarbon structure to occur in the pipeline and inthe vessel, while the ammonium salt is dissolved in the excess aqueousphase. Waste water containing ammonium sulfide and some organic sulfur(2 kg per hour of total 519 kg per hour organic sulfur produced) wasdecanted as stream 752 from the vessel 750. The remaining lighthydrocarbons were purged as stream 754 from vessel 750.

The hydrocarbon stream 756 containing catalyst and most of the sulfones(517 kg), as they are more soluble in hydrocarbons than water, waspassed to the extraction vessel 780 along with a methanol stream 782 toseparate the reaction by products sulfoxides and sulfones from thehydrocarbon mixture. The methanol amount used was about equal parts ofthe treated hydrocarbons to dissolve the oxidation by-products sulfones.About 1 W % of sulfones of total sulfones produced in the oxidationreactions remained in the hydrocarbons during the extractions anddiscarded from the process.

The hydrocarbons containing reduced sulfur-content, stream 784, waspassed to the adsorption column 790 for polishing, and an essentiallysulfur-free diesel product (<10 ppmw) stream 794 was obtained from theadsorption column and the process reject stream 792 containing all thesulfones are obtained from the adsorption column 790. The materialbalance for the integrated hydrotreating-oxidative process is given inTable 3.

TABLE 3 Stream # 726 730 770 772 744 752 754 stream Aqueous CombinedWaste Cold Sep Feedstock Rcr Outlet Oxidant Catalyst Stream Water VaporComponent Kg/h Kg/h Kg/h Kg/h Kg/h Kg/h Kg/h Ammonia 0 18 0 0 18 18 0Hydrogen sulfide 0 3,476 0 0 3,476 35 2,373 Water 0 0 8,750 0 8,7508,953 0 Hydrogen 0 3,382 0 0 3,382 0 3,353 Methanol 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Methane 0 2,197 0 0 2,197 0 2,075 Ethane 0 469 0 0 469 0 378 Propane 0317 0 0 317 0 181 Butanes 0 230 0 0 230 0 94 Diesel 155,603 171,915 0 0171,915 0 24 Organic Sulfur 19,397 519 0 0 519 2 0 Acetic Acid 0 0 010,799 10,799 10,799 0 Na₂WO₄ 0 0 0 175 175 173 0 Hydrogen Peroxide 0 0383 0 383 0 0 Total Kgh 175,000 182,523 9,133 10,974 202,631 19,9808,478 Stream # 756 782 784 786 794 792 stream Cold Sep MethanolExtracted Methanol Cleaned Liquid in Oil out Oil Residue Component Kg/hKg/h Kg/h Kg/h Kg/h Kg/h Ammonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hydrogen sulfide 1,068 01,068 0 1,068 0 Water 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hydrogen 29 0 29 0 29 0 Methanol 0174,173 135 174,038 135 0 Methane 121 0 121 0 121 0 Ethane 91 0 91 0 910 Propane 136 0 136 0 136 0 Butanes 136 0 136 0 136 0 Diesel 172,071 0172,071 0 172,069 0 Organic Sulfur 517 0 3 514 2 3 Acetic Acid 0 0 0 0 00 Na₂WO₄ 2 0 5 2 0 5 Hydrogen Peroxide 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Kgh 174,173174,173 173,796 174,552 173,788 8

The methods and systems of the present invention have been describedabove and in the attached drawings; however, modifications will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and the scope ofprotection for the invention is to be defined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for desulfurizing a hydrocarbon feedstream containing organosulfur compounds comprising: a. subjecting thehydrocarbon feed stream to a hydrotreating reaction, wherein thehydrocarbon feed stream is contacted with hydrogen to convert a portionof the organosulfur compounds into a hydrotreated effluent containinghydrogen sulfide and a mixture of hydrocarbons, the mixture ofhydrocarbons having a reduced organosulfur compound content as comparedto the hydrocarbon feed stream; b. passing the hydrotreated reactioneffluent to a high pressure separator to remove gaseous components andproduce a high pressure separator hydrocarbon effluent stream, c. mixingthe high pressure separator hydrocarbon effluent stream with an oxidantand an oxidation catalyst resulting in a combined stream; d. introducingthe combined stream into a low pressure separator, wherein a portion ofthe remaining organosulfur compounds from the hydrotreated reactioneffluent are oxidized; e. separating the combined stream in the lowpressure separator into a gas overhead stream containing a portion ofthe hydrogen sulfide, ammonia gas and any light hydrocarbons, a waterstream containing excess water, ammonium sulfide salt, any unreactedoxidant and any oxidation reaction products dissolved in water, and aliquid hydrocarbon stream containing hydrocarbons and oxidation reactionproducts including sulfoxides and/or sulfones; f. separating the liquidstream in an extraction unit into an oxidation reaction product streamand hydrocarbon product stream having a reduced organosulfur compoundcontent as compared to the hydrotreated reaction effluent.
 2. Theprocess as in claim 1, wherein step (e) occurs in a series of lowpressure separators.
 3. The process as in claim 2, wherein at least aportion of water separated in step (e) is retained in the liquidhydrocarbon stream from a first of a series of low pressure separatorsand passed to a second of the series of low pressure separators, thewater stream containing unreacted oxidant.
 4. The process as in claim 2,further comprising introducing additional oxidant between a first of aseries of low pressure separators and a second of the series of lowpressure separators.
 5. The process as in claim 2, further comprisingintroducing additional catalyst between a first of a series of lowpressure separators and a second of the series of low pressureseparators.
 6. The process as in claim 1, wherein step (e) occurs in aparallel arrangement of a plurality of low pressure separators.
 7. Theprocess as in claim 6, further comprising introducing additional oxidantbetween a first of the parallel arrangement of low pressure separatorsand a second of the parallel arrangement of low pressure separators. 8.The process as in claim 6, further comprising introducing additionalcatalyst between a first of the parallel arrangement of low pressureseparators and a second of the parallel arrangement of low pressureseparators.